Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Position Increased by MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd.

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 99.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 100,445 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 50,109 shares during the quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd.'s holdings in Hess were worth $13,360,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 225.6% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 293 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on HES shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Hess from $193.00 to $191.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Hess from $151.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $162.16.

Hess Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE HES traded down $0.21 during trading on Friday, reaching $134.86. 1,688,439 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,804,484. The business's 50-day moving average price is $139.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $141.38. Hess Co. has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $161.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $41.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.98 and a beta of 0.61.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.14). Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.16 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Hess's payout ratio is currently 27.66%.

Insider Activity at Hess

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total value of $27,877,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,384,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at $379,879,364.70. This represents a 6.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 9.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hess Profile

Hess Corporation, an exploration and production company, explores, develops, produces, purchases, transports, and sells crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and natural gas. The company operates in two segments, Exploration and Production, and Midstream. It conducts production operations primarily in the United States, Guyana, the Malaysia/Thailand Joint Development Area, and Malaysia; and exploration activities principally offshore Guyana, the U.S.